WWE 2K24 review: "A brilliant, bombastic, bruising brawler"

If there's a lesson that WWE 2K24 can teach all other annual sports games, it's this: take a year off. Hell, maybe even two. Play FIFA 20 or Madden 20 today, then switch to their modern-day counterparts, and a sense of familiarity still permeates. Revisit the awful WWE 2K20 – which triggered a 29-month hiatus, and complete series reboot – and the difference is palpable. Three years into this new era of the Smackdown/2K franchise, Visual Concepts delivers a brilliant, bombastic, bruising brawler. 

Alas, money talks – remember that phrase – and no serious publisher is going to skip a year's worth of sales unless they can help it. More's the pity, as the Cena-strong foundations of WWE 2K22 and 2K23 remain in place, with enhancements and other flourishes sprinkled on top. We get more new match types than any wrestling game in recent memory: special guest referee, ambulance, casket, and three different flavors of gauntlet. We get the ability to throw weapons, and super finishers, where three bars in your HUD can be turned into a colossal move such as a top-rope manhandle slam for Becky Lynch. (Who even gets 'welcome home!' chants if you use her in NXT.) And we get an outrageous level of authenticity: 240-odd roster members, seven real refs, three different ring announcers. Plus, um, Muhammad Ali.

Channel your Rage

Central to all this is the way WWE 2K24 handles. Wrestlers behave according to their attributes, and bouts unfold differently depending on weights, move-sets, and player skill. There's a heft to behemoth Braun Strowman, a daintiness to Spanish high-flier Axiom, a sense of technical excellence when controlling Chad Gable or Kurt Angle. But that was all true of the previous editions. Layered on top are countless new animations and a greater sense of fluidity. New Paybacks such as Rage, which immediately fills your finisher meter, boost the fun factor. Fresh camera angles during entrances and pin attempts enhance realism. As do tag partner instructions, and more manager involvement – such as Ludwig Kaiser removing the turnbuckle unprompted to help Gunther retain his Intercontinental title.

For the most part, those gameplay improvements are matched outside of the squared circle. After two false starts, MyGM is now deep, detailed, and replayable. The mode sees you helming one of four brands across a series of 25-week seasons – drafting wrestlers, booking matches, and honing in on management minutiae such as arena sizes and pyro effects. Bouts can be simmed, watched, or played yourself. The competitive element is great, especially against another human, while building up lesser-known wrestlers towards greatness becomes increasingly engaging – particularly when your scouts dredge up hilariously hammy fictional jobbers. 240 real wrestlers on the roster, yet I'm loving the escapades of Chuck McWagon and Cindy Fluff.

While MyGM treats matches as legit sporting contents – unless you take control, the AI decides results – Universe puts you in charge of every brand, show, and match result. It's pared down compared to previous years, with the compelling option to trigger in-ring promos long gone, but booking match cards and selecting cutscenes remains both straightforward and all-consuming. MyRise is similarly immersive, offering one story for each of the women's and men's divisions. No spoilers, but the male tale of Roman Reigns vacating his title after 1,253 days and your quest to steal his spot is full of branching options and cute Easter eggs. Cameos for cult faves Cole Quinn and Geneva Rose in the women's story are welcome, too.

However, the eagle-eyed will have spotted one inconsistency. WWE 2K24 improves on 2K23 in almost every way, yet still gets the same four-star score. You're right to wonder why, and it's mainly down to two modes. One that is beginning to show its age, and one which is in danger of permanently holding this franchise back.

Showcase is a longstanding series tradition, earning you unlockables and video treats for playing through matches of yesteryear. But the format is wearing thin, and this year's theme – 40 Years of WrestleMania – is a disappointment. It's great to see lost classics such as Roddy Piper vs Bret Hart given some love, but it's loaded with other bouts which are a grind once you get to them. Once again we're lumbered with a dire soundtrack, instead of commentary, although Corey Graves' video packages are excellent. Still, the format feels formulaic, and you'll never play it again once all unlockables are ticked off.

Problematic Personas

The series' most controversial mode, MyFaction, also returns – and here's where we come back to that earlier phrase: money talks. Much like Ultimate Team in FC 24, you're funneled towards this mode at every turn. One fan-requested change is welcome: the addition of Persona cards, where gimmicks unlocked in MyFaction can now be utilized across the rest of WWE 2K24. But even this comes with a dispiriting caveat. Menu and wrestler-select screens contain blanked out faces and names for those cards, effectively reminding you that you need to play MyFaction to complete your roster. You know, the mode featuring paid-for currency. It's garish, and sullies all those wonderful improvements found across the rest of WWE 2K24.

MyFaction does add new elements, such as more 4x4 match types, and even some roguelike features such as persistent damage. Those who do enjoy that mode are likely to embrace those tweaks. But for many fans – there's a growing chunk of the community braying for it to be scrapped altogether – it's going to be a bigger turn-off than the infamous Randy Orton vs Bray Wyatt disaster from WrestleMania 33.

That bout mercifully doesn't make it into Showcase, but brilliantly we do get five different versions of Wyatt following his untimely passing last August, aged just 36. Like the real refs, and ring announcers, and extra match types it's a sign that 2K is listening to its audience, and keen to deliver fan service. Which only makes MyFaction feel like an even bigger contradiction to that wider ethos. Then again, money talks. And it's the biggest hurdle in this rejuvenated series securing true greatness.